Joshua A. Lanham

Joshua A. Lanham is a member of the Bowles Rice Litigation Department and practices in the firm’s Charleston, West Virginia office. He represents clients across West Virginia in a wide range of forums, including administrative agencies, arbitration proceedings, Magistrate and Circuit Courts, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, and the United States District Courts for both the Southern and Northern Districts of West Virginia.

Josh concentrates his practice on construction disputes; coal, oil, and gas litigation; banking litigation; will, trust, and estate litigation; bad faith; and personal injury defense. His work includes defending complex claims and protecting businesses and individuals in matters that directly impact their operations and reputations.

Josh serves on the firm’s Recruiting Committee and Artificial Intelligence Committee, and is a member of the West Virginia State Bar’s Rural Practice Committee. His work has earned recognition by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2024) in litigation—banking & finance and construction, as well as designation as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in Business Litigation for West Virginia (2024–2025).

Josh earned his law degree from the West Virginia University College of Law in 2017, where he graduated in the top ten percent of his class as a member of the Order of the Coif. He also served as an associate editor of The West Virginia Law Review and as a student attorney in the College’s General Legal Clinic. He received his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in political science from West Virginia University.

Outside the courtroom, Josh is active in his community. He is a published children’s book author and donates books to young children in local schools each holiday season. In his free time, Josh enjoys spending time with his fiancée, Brooke, and their dog, Sirius.

• Member, Bowles Rice Recruiting committee
• Member, Bowles Rice AI committee

Representative Matters: 

• Successfully defended a landowner client by obtaining dismissal with prejudice of a civil action brought by a county commission seeking to enforce investigatory demands under a comprehensive public nuisance abatement ordinance, with the court declaring key provisions of the ordinance unenforceable as ultra vires and unconstitutional.

• Successfully defended an insurance company and its adjuster in a bad faith and breach of contract dispute, securing summary judgment and the dismissal of all claims with prejudice.
• Secured a complete defense verdict in business-owner client’s favor after a three-day jury trial in a civil action relating to claims of conversion of business equipment and subsequent loss of use.
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of landowner client on RCRA, CERCLA, nuisance, and other environmental claims in a civil action filed by a municipality with potential seven-figure exposure.
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of clients on their claims for breach of fiduciary duty and tortuous interference with testamentary bequest resulting in a six-figure special damage award against the executors of the estate that wrongfully withheld probate proceeds from clients.  
• Secured dismissal of negligent hiring claim asserted by plaintiff against business-owner client.
• Prevailed before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to enforce business-owner client’s forum-selection clause contained in the parties’ contract.

• Obtained judgment on the pleadings in a debt collection action and successfully garnished the amount owed to creditor client.
• Obtained motion for summary judgment in favor of employer client against two former employees’ wrongful termination and West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act claims. 
• Obtained dismissal of an insurer defendant in an insurance bad faith action under Rule 12(b) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure.
• Secured professional licenses for various clients that were being withheld by the licensing authority.
• Obtained a favorable ruling after a bench trial entitling his creditor client to the entire sum of debt owed by debtor.

• Recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Business Litigation, 2024-present
• Recognized by The Best Lawyers In America: Ones to Watch in Litigation – Banking and Finance and Litigation – Construction, since 2024
• "Generation Next, 40 Under 40" award winner, 2024 
• Order of the Coif, West Virginia University College of Law
• Recipient of CALI Awards (recognition for achieving the highest grade in a particular subject) at West Virginia University College of Law:
• Constitutional Law
• Renewable Energy and Alternative Fuel Law

• West Virginia State Bar, Rural Practice Committee (member)

• Kanawha Pastoral Counseling Center (Prior President, Past Secretary, Board of Directors)
• Legal Aid of West Virginia (Volunteer)
• FestivAll Board (Member)